Photograph
by FairyLights101
Summary: Cue Eren Yeager, a rising young star in the music industry going cross country to perform live before crowds of thousands. Enter Erwin Smith, a businessman who happens to be Eren's boyfriend of six years. Sometimes it's hard knowing he won't see his lover all the time, that anything could happen, but Eren seems to have a knack for making those worries disappear.


**Eruren/Eruere Week Day 7: Free Space  
** **Song: "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran**

* * *

Erwin threaded through the crowd that had already gathered within the coliseum, a large number of attendees already packed into the standing-only area. The seats were starting to fill. It was no surprise, especially not with how popular Eren's last album had been. For ten weeks he had been at the top of the charts for his album "Dreams", one of the top-sellers not only nationally but overseas as well.

 _He's really gained a lot of fame… At least it doesn't seem to be going to his head_. No, it certainly didn't seem that way. Eren always begged him to attend a concert and returning home as often as he could when Erwin couldn't join him on tour. He also found ingenious ways to ditch the paparazzi so they could have a nice date occasionally.

 _I still don't like him being away so often. It's not that I don't trust him - I just don't trust the other people_. There were countless occasions he could call to mind where he had peeked out of their hotel window and found a mob of rabid fangirls camped out in the parking lot, and that didn't include the ones that roamed through the hotel in search of their room. Erwin pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and kept striding forward.

When a security guard moved to stop him a few feet from the stage he flashed the badge that Eren had given him, the one that would take him to some specific place that the young superstar had insisted upon. The guard examined it carefully, then Erwin, then his ID before he finally nodded and led Erwin further down toward a spot dead center before the stage, right where it bulged out into the audience. There was a little red 'X' on the floor, one that he stared at for a moment or two before firmly planting his feet onto it.

His hand tightened around the badge, the hard plastic digging into his palm as he inspected the stage. It was simple, a circular wooden setup with four protrusions into the audience and several things that could have been trap doors leading to the rooms beneath the floor that was beneath Erwin's feet. He had been down there an hour before watching Eren as his makeup crew had dabbed on this and that and fought their millionth futile battle against the wild mane of chestnut locks that made up Eren's hair. Erwin couldn't remember the last time he had seen Eren so nervous - probably right before his first major concert - but that didn't account for all the whispering of the crew and the numerous "Shut up!"s he had caught.

 _Dear God, if he actually listened to Zoe and agreed to wear that skimpy outfit on stage… I just might drag him off the stage. Probably to screw him senseless, then to throttle whoever let him walk out wearing it_. 'It' was an outfit that consisted of the tightest black booty shorts Erwin had ever laid eyes on, fishnet stockings, black pumps, and a loose green tanktop. And fuck, an outfit like that had never been appealing until Eren had strutted out of the changing room like some elegant panther before turning tomato-red when he realized that Erwin was in the room as well.

The businessman smiled faintly and glanced around. Bodies had started to press against him at some point, ranging from people so young they probably hadn't even hit puberty yet to some who could have been as old as him. Then again, twenty-seven wasn't too bad, especially to be attending a concert like Eren's. The young man covered so many genres and he had such a talent that people of nearly every age couldn't help but like at least one of his songs. It was positively phenomenal. A small smile curled at Erwin's lips. _I'm proud of you, Eren. You've come so far. And soon you'll be going further_.

The lights dimmed abruptly, plunging the coliseum into darkness. Screams split the air, thankfully of the "Oh my God, it's finally starting" rather than the "Oh God, we're all gonna die" variety. They filled the air, rising and rising until the clamor was almost deafening. And then the lights flared back on, except these lights were different.

They were pure white and focused on the stage, catching on the white fog that had started to pump up from sources unseen. Blue lights joined in, spinning whirling around on the stage until they focused on something that rose through the fog. A drum kit stood out against it, a blonde seated behind it with his arms crossed over his bowed head, drumsticks raised high into the air.

The lights whirled away again, this time focusing on a person closer. Her long black hair was tied back and in her white garb, she could have been a goddess standing amongst the fog, face tipped toward the dark ceiling with a black violin perched upon her shoulder. Another person was illuminated, a boy with ashy blonde hair and a guitar clutched close to his body, face turned to the side. And then the lights finally settled on a spot in the middle. A figure rose from the fog, the form so familiar that Erwin didn't need to see the obscured features to have his heart lurch into overdrive.

"Eren…"

His voice was lost beneath the clamor of the thousands of attendees but it didn't matter. No, not when he was the only one with a photograph of Eren and him that had dangled around his neck for five years. Not when he would greet Eren after the show with the kind of touches that no fan would ever receive.

 _"Good evening to all you lovely ladies, gents, and everyone in between!"_ The cries were deafening as they rose to meet Eren's greeting. The star waited patiently, a broad smile tugging at his lips - the same one that was projected onto the four massive screens overhead. _"I hope you all are having a great night, 'cause I know I am, especially seeing all of you fantastic people. Seriously guys, I love you lots. So, how about I show that by getting this show rolling?"_

The screams that the crowd somehow pulled out put the other outbursts to shame, rocking Erwin's world and bringing a grimace to his lips. One that almost immediately faded when he saw Eren reach for that glimmer of gold that was forever looped around his neck - the match to the necklace on his own neck. Chords filled the air, notes from Mikasa's violin and Jean's guitar weaving through the air, somehow managing to overpower the crowd as Armin's drums joined in, a swift tune with a slow undercurrent. "Flight For Freedom", a song Erwin knew well - mainly because Eren had dragged around the apartment for a solid month before he had managed to break past his block and messily scrawl it out, serenade him with a rough version of it, and dash off to the recording studio with the rest of his band members.

When Eren's honey voice soared through the air the crowd rose to meet it before faltering slightly so they could hear and hang onto every note, every word. The fog rolled off the stage, spilling over the feet of those who were standing in the area below. Eren strutted through it with his familiar conviction, the smile never truly leaving his lips, even when he stalked across the stage to stand right on the edge, teetering over the audience in all his black-clad glory.

Had Erwin not known better, he would have said that every hand that Eren raked through his hair, every sway of his hips, and sinful gaze that swept the audience was calculated. But no, that was just Eren being himself, as pure a form as he could achieve while on stage. The young man spun on stage, throwing himself from one song to another with seemingly limitless energy as Mikasa and Jean stalked the stage around him, shooting off hauty glances and seductive smirks - and a waggle of the eyebrows, courtesy of Jean, as he strode past, taking a moment to reach out for the audience during a lull in one of his parts.

Transitions between songs were smooth - more often than not Erwin didn't quite realize they had shifted into another song until Eren's voice joined in with the instruments. _They've improved on those since last time._ All too soon the instruments faded away and Eren came to a standstill in the center of the stage, his face plastered on the massive screens for all to see. _"Well, I'm reluctant to say, but that's the end of our set… Unless you guys would like one more?"_

The words ignited the crowd, setting them off like a thousand pounds of dynamite. Their shrieks soared through the coliseum, ringing through Erwin's ears. "Encore, encore, encore, encore!"

Eren raised his hands, a helpless grin on his face though his brilliant turquoise eyes were anything but. No, they were filled with nervous anticipation and hope.

 _Eren, you really are too easy to read. Or maybe I'm biased._

 _"Okay guys, I'll give you an encore. But first… first I need to call on a certain someone who is here tonight. They're a special someone who has held a special place in my heart… Oh hell, who am I kidding? They've got my whole heart, no denying that."_

The crowd exploded, a mixture of of coos and cries. Erwin didn't care. His heart wasn't quite beating right and fuck, his breathing had hitched up a notch. _Eren…_ Those orbs, miniature oceans somehow captured within the pigments of an iris, turned toward him. A shy smile curled at Eren's lips, a break in his composure of confidence. Erwin's lips twitched up as well.

And then Eren turned completely toward him, footsteps all too audible in the abrupt silence of the coliseum. Cobalt eyes widened and widened and _widened_ as Eren knelt down at the edge of the stage before him. A slender arm extended toward him. All eyes were on him. Hell, even the bloody _cameras_ were pointed on him and Eren, their central focus on the empty hand between them. Eren's smile grew, flashing white teeth and illuminating his eyes better than any light, artificial or not, ever could. Erwin took his hand. And then he was on the stage, feet planted on the wooden platform, his hand still clutched tight in Eren's. _"For those of you who don't know, this is my boyfriend of six years, Erwin Smith."_

Another wave of noise, this time consisting more of squeals and shrieks of "So cute!" or something along the lines of that. Erwin wasn't quite sure - the clamor of voices drowned any intelligible words out and left him with a cacophony of babble.

 _"Erwin, tonight I want to give you a little something special. So stand right here and I'll tell you all you need to know."_ Eren centered him on the stage, leaving him standing there completely and utterly bewildered, gaze tracking Eren as he turned to the audience. _"Now, I hate to say this, but I need you guys to stay as quiet as possible for me, okay? These next few minutes are gonna be really important."_

A hush descended over the coliseum within the next few seconds. It was so quiet that Erwin was nearly positive they could all hear his heart thundering away in his heart. He might have been good in front of people - hell, he had been valedictorian of his graduating class and had presented a speech before nearly two thousand teens, adults, and elders - but two thousand was easily dwarfed by the forty thousand concert goers that filled the stadium.

It was enough to make him long for the group he had thought of as sizeable at the time of his graduation. Eren glanced back at him and dropped a wink before he glanced at his friends. They dipped their heads in nods. The brunette's throat bobbed and he took a deep breath, audible now that the audience was silent, touched the locket that hung around his neck, and started to sing, the gentle strumming from a guitar and muted chords of a violin twining in with his soft voice.

" _Loving can hurt  
Loving can hurt sometimes  
But it's the only thing  
That I know_

 _And when it gets hard  
You know it can get hard sometimes  
It is the only thing that makes us feel alive_

 _We keep this love in a photograph  
We made these memories for ourselves  
Where our eyes are never closing  
Hearts are never broken  
And times are forever frozen still…"_

He didn't recognize the words, nor the tune. _I've never heard it before_. Eren grinned at him as he slid around him, his confidence returning with every word that poured through the speakers mounted high above. All the while his fingers remained on the locket with its simple chain of gold that led to an oval of gold, the top of which had Erwin's name etched into it. Just as his had Eren's on it.

" _So you can keep me  
Inside the pocket  
Of your ripped jeans  
Holdin' me closer  
Til our eyes meet  
You won't ever be alone  
Wait for me to come home_

 _Loving can heal  
Loving can mend your soul  
And is the only thing  
That I know (know)  
I swear it will get easier  
Remember that with every piece of ya  
And it's the only thing we take with us when we die_

 _We keep this love in a photograph  
We make these memories for ourselves  
Where our eyes are never closing  
Our hearts were never broken  
And times forever frozen still  
So you can keep me  
Inside the pocket  
Of your ripped jeans  
Holdin' me closer  
Till our eyes meet  
You won't ever be alone_

 _And if you hurt me  
Well that's ok baby only words bleed  
Inside these pages you just hold me  
And I won't ever let you go."_

Eren finally came close, their hands settling together in a loose grip, though he didn't twine their fingers together. He simply held them, occasionally sweeping a gentle thumb across his knuckles. Those oceanic orbs danced beneath the dimmed white lights, brimming with so many emotions, too many to separate and analyze and examine. His smile was so beautiful, enough that Erwin's chest ached. He wanted to reach out, to touch Eren's face, but those hands holding his held him back.

" _Wait for me to come home  
Wait for me to come home  
Wait for me to come home  
Wait for me to come home_

 _Oh you can fit me  
Inside the necklace you got when you were twenty  
Next to your heartbeat  
Where I should be  
Keep it deep within your soul."_

A finger tapped Erwin's necklace, then Eren's. The mysterious lockets that the paparazzi and tabloids were forever speculating over, wondering what lay within, why it was so important that Eren never went a day without it, no matter what. The one that Erwin opened on those lonely nights when their bed was too cold without that body beside him and Eren couldn't be called because he was sleeping from jet lag or practicing or performing. The one he held tight whenever he needed something to tide him over until Eren could call. And God, it had never felt so important in his life than that moment.

Eren sank down to a knee and tugged Erwin's hands with him, turning them palm down. He released one and reached to his back pocket with a smile that had abruptly lost all its suave confidence, replaced by an overwhelming amount of nerves. Somewhere in the background Erwin distantly heard Mikasa and Jean continuing the song, repeating the same notes and nearly drowning out the gasps from the crowd. His heart was hammering in his chest, thumping so hard that it should have cracked a rib or two. A small black box was in Eren's hand when it reappeared. Twin blue-greens rose to meet his cobalt ones, bright with anticipation. A careful thumb teased the crevice in the center.

"Erwin Smith… you are the air I breathe, the sun I see. You are my _world_. _You_ are the reason why I've come so far. For ten years you've been so many things: stranger; friend; encourager; lover. And now… I hope you'll do me the honor of being one more thing - my husband."

Any chances of Erwin catching his breath were completely out the window. His heart had probably stopped in his chest but he didn't care. Out of every option possible, this was the one he had least expected. They had never brought up the topic but Erwin had always assumed he would be the one to ask, the one to drop to his knee. When, he had never been quite sure, but now that didn't matter either. Lips parted, trying to form words that wouldn't quite come. And then it did.

" _Yes_."

Everything exploded into a cacophony of cheering on all sides as Eren slipped that cool band of gold onto his finger, then let Erwin do the same to him. The shorter male tugged him down a second later, crushing their lips together for a moment before he pulled away, rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed. There was no denying the tears that streaked his cheeks but his voice was clear when he spoke once more. _"Now how about I finish your song?"_ Eren stepped away to face the crowd, clutching Erwin's hand tight as he squeezed the microphone and let his clear voice fill the coliseum.

" _And if you hurt me  
Well that's okay baby only words bleed  
Inside these pages you just hold me  
And I won't ever let you go_

 _When I'm away  
I will remember how you kissed me  
Under the lamppost  
Back on sixth street  
Hearing you whisper through the phone  
Wait for me to come home…"_


End file.
